Leaf separator



1,631,198 June 7, 1927. J. GOUGH LEAF SEPARATOR Filed Jan.30, 1923Patented June 7, 1927. 1

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, y V U N- l T ED STAT-ES T Q FF 1 CE;

JOSEPH GOUG-H, or itEwAnK, may) tenses, A ssieitonrrof NaomimCORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

LEAF sE'rARAToR.

My invention relates to breaking up ot' speetll tha n the leaves arepresented to it bundles of dried leaves and especially to then' a ss,eachmassis ultimately broken breaking up bundles of tobacco leaves. Asup int'o its component parts. A transfer a preliminary to drying,'it iscustomary, in mechani'sin D conveys away the 'sepai'atedv 5 some tobaccofields at least to. gather the leaveslform C, and if this transfer isdriven green leaves into bundles with their stems at a higherj speedthan C, the leaves are twisted or tied together, My in ventionre spacedapartstilltartherhis manner. lates to re-separating 'the leaves of suchthe le ves mayb Darhted from each other .l bundles. Heretofore this workhas been to sucli farther extent as may be desirable 10 done largel gitnot entirely byhandymy for subsequent operations, Beyond thef presentinvention provides novel method highfspeed transferiD, themachine shownfor doing the work and also provides for has been p ovided with spefi ll l .liances doing the work'by machine. v v I adapting it for useuas afeeding mechanism Such machines are particularly usetul' a's lorstemming machines and these are de- 3-5 feeds for machines which'stripthe'stems'scribejd1n de a l er n t or larger veins "from the bodies oftobacco ndie emb, diment OfthQ G illusleaves, and the embodiment of myinvention 'trated, intake 'A 'compris es the parallel flexhereinafterdescribed has been specially ible belts 1 and 2, which, in passingaround. arranged for such use. It will be apparent the pulleys or rolls3 and l, also provide the 2! however that the machine be used togripping mechanism. 7 Other; pulleys .5 and re-separate' leaves as apreliminary to any 6 and such idlers as may be necessary, com-j otherstep of manufacturing or mechandis" pletel the support ofthese belts andthe latm I I I J I ter travel at substantially the same speed Theaccompanying drawings illustrate an and w in opposite directions so thatthe en'ibodii'nent of my invention that is parwo adjacentfcourses of thebelts move ticularly adapted to act as a feed for stemin the samedirection, that it 0 s y, b ming machines as aforesaid. 1 is an OWmjdl hlgripper. BQ The widthof these elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is aplanv belts. slightly eXceeds ithe length of the view thereof, and Fig.3 is a sectional'delongesjtle'a f contemplatedandthe lower belt an t ilof a art thereof. b 1 is ex en'dedlbeyond the upper belt 2 at the '85 Inthe operation of my invention the 'entran ce endlof the lnEC ljllnQSOflSto provide twine or other wrapping of thestems ot a spaceIon wh'chthe-operatormay place the bundles is first broken and each bundle thebroken bun les 9 in siiccession as shown crudely torn apart or separatedinto disin Fig.2. A vertical wall plate 10 at one 35 ti ct parts-forexample by"hand but edge'of the' extens'ion of the lower beltIprowithoutany attempt being made to separate vides a g uide against 'or close to.which the the bundle into its indiv'dual leaves as here-, operatormayplacel'thestem ends of the brokto'tor'e. This rough, uneven breaking'ofthe en bunches as indicated and thus secure subbundles causes the leavesto project irregstantially uniformintroduction ofzthe leaf. 0 ularlyfrom the resulting leaf-masses and, 'rnasses v Theintakebelts advanceshort disin this condition the masses aret'ed' to the "tancesintermittently, step by step. These. machine intake A which advancesthelea'if Ifadvances ultimatelycarry successive broken successivelythrough a gripping leaf-masses to B where, the pulleys or drumsnechanisin at B, wherein each mass is held 3 and 4; are placed soclosetogether that, firmly while it differently timed mechanism thebelts hold each mass firmly, with a porat C (which 1 term the separatormecha- "tion protruding" within the reach of the I nism) g spseachpromoting; bit of leaf as separator C, during; the'lDtQIVZllSillfib tll;

the latter is presented to the separator and; beltsare' at rest. .Duringthese intervals the that leaf is torn awav from the iart-bundlemechanism at C ras )S the arotrudin bit or x 3 n. D'-

, 50 held in the gripping mechanism bei ore a bits ot the mass andpullsthe same away 9 tl thcr adv nce oi" the mass presents a b t fromthe remainder of the mass reta ned of iother' leaf to the sp ot theseparator. by the belts. The separator mechanism JO This action beingCOnLlillllJllS and the step consists princ pally of thecorrugated rollerarator mecha ii at C continuallycarrvin 13.and a suitable coo ieratrn.sunoort be- L f :i c 4,, a 1,: the leaves away raster (that is, at agreater tween which the pro ecting bits 01' leaf are grasped. Preferablythis support comprises a second roller 14 turning synchronously with thecorrugated roller 13 and contacting, or substantially contacting, withthe cor rugations of the latter. A table or plate 15 may be inserted toassist in directing the leaves into the crevice between the rollers ofthe separator, and from the crevice to the transfer D; preferably thistable is continuous, in part at least, from one side of the roller 13 tothe other. In the present instance the plate is provided with a numberof apertures 16 through which sections 17 of the lower roller projectinto contact with the corrugated separator roller while bridges betweenthe apertures extend over reduced sections of the lower roller toconnect the two sides of the plate table 1.5. A stationary table mayconstitute more or less of the coacting support below the currugatedroller 13 in the present instance for example, by the bridges of theplate table 15 being placed high enough to engage or substantiallyengage with these corrugations. Preferably (Fig. 3) at least the edgesof the longitudinal corrugations of the upper roller consist of aflexible material like rubber whereby these corrugations may actuallyengage with and somewhat press against the coacting support or supportsbelow to grasp a leaf sufficiently firmly to assure the leaf beingpulled away from the leaf mass, but without however unduly crushing theleaf; the corrugations may consist, for example, in part or in whole ofrubber strips 18 set in slots in the roller body 13. The corrugationsmay also be set to contact with the belt 2 where the latter passes overthe roller 3 (Fig. and thus prevent leaves following this belt upwardsby chance and out of the reach of the separator members; the table plate15 may also be inclined as shown in the same figure and brought near thelower belt to prevent the leaves from following this belt down. he twoseparator rollers 13 and 14 are turned intermittently like the belts land 2 (in the direction to convey the leaves away from the belts 1 and.2), but are so driven as, in general. to turn while the intake belts areat rest and to stand at rest while these belts advance.

It will now be apparent that the stepbystep advances of the intake beltsl, and 2 being sufficiently short. repeated advances will bring theprojecting bits of each torn leaf-mass within the reach of theseparators at C successively as aforesaid. These rolls turning while theintake belts are at rest, the separator grasps these separate bits ofleaf during the intervals wherein the mass is held at rest by the beltsand pulls the grasped leaf or'leaves away and passes them on to thetransfer I). Ultimately the entire mass is pulled apart in this mannerand the action presented to the separator, two or more leaves will betorn away from the constituent mass together. There may be someoverlapping in the alternate advance of the intake belts and the turningof the separator rolls as will now be apparent.

The transfer at 1) consists, in the present instance, of two flexiblebelts 22 and 23 running over suitable pulleys or rolls 2%, 25,

and 2?, and provided with such idlers as may be necessary or desired;these belts are f the same width as the intake belts 1 and 2 and aredriven in opposite directions so that they coact to convey the leavesaway from the separator rolls at Q. As before pointed out, these beltsmay be driven so much faster than the separator rolls as to space thesepa rated leaves apart a greater distance than is eii'ccted by theseparator rolls alone. The belt-supporting rolls 25 and 27 which areadjacent the separator mechanism at C, are located suliiciently close toeach other to cause the transfer belts to grasp the leaves rathertightly at this point so as to "ist or complete the separation of theleaves if neeessary, as by conveying away the more advanced leaf of apair (and therefore the first of the pair released by the separator C)tiat by chance may have come together within the reach of the separatorrolls and hence have been torn from a leaf-mass together. '1 he morerearward of these two leaves remains within the separator rolls pendingits release by a further turn of the rolls. As

shown, particularly in Fig. 1, the belts 22 and 33 preferably divergeslightly toward the exit where the separated leaves are di charged.

As before stated, the machine is herein illustrated as arranged for useas a feed for a stemming machine. The special appliances for thispurpose consist of a feed belt 32 for conveying the separated leaves tothe stemmer, and a cross belt 33 and a vertical abutment plate 34:beside the feed belt for aligning the leaves on this feed belt in themanner that a stemmer requires. On account of the irregular placing ofthe leaves in the bundles and the treatment they receive in the processof separation, the leaves are discharged from the transfer belts 22 and,23 with the ends of their stems at varying distances from the adjacentedge of the transfer belt; furthermore, the transfer belts Iii til)

are (orinay be) drivennat such high speed as to throw the leaves somedistance from.

the exit between them.. I take advantage of this last feature to alignthe leaf stems at or near-the edge of the feed belt 82 as is required bythe stemmer. For this purpose the vertical cross belt 33 is placedopposite theexit from. the transfer belts and within the trajectory. ofthe issuing leaves. This cross belt is driven continuously in such adirection that the course of the belt opposite the (transfer exit movestoward the abutment plate 34. The leaves therefore strike this belt andare thrown by it toward theabutmerit plate, stem first, and striking itfall ontothe feed belt substantially parallel'with each other and. withthe ends of their stems substantially in line- The feed belt-thenconveys the alignedleaves underneath the cross belt and on to thestemmer or other point. of further treatment. The cross belt iscarriedby the vertical pulleys or rollers if desired, the idlers 86 maydeflect the cross belt shown to provide additional room for the machine(not shown) performing the further. treatment.

It will be understood that the various parts of .the machine will be ofsuch sizes and so proportioned as to perform the functions indicated. Ihave. found about three inches to be a suitable diameter for the rollssupporting the intake and transfer belts, and for the separator rolls 13and ll. 1 also usually space. the two intake. belts about onequarter .ofan inch apart and separate the two transferbelts about the samedistance.

It will also be understood that various forms of mechanical movementsmay, in general, be employed for securing the actions of the belts androllsheretofore described. In the machine illustrated power is derivedfrom the power shaft l0 which turns continually in one direction. Achain tl between the sprocket 412 on the power shaft l0 drives the lackshaft 43, and short crank la on the latter is conn cted by a link to arocker looselv hung on the shaft of the beltsupporting roller l; thencea spring held pawl 49 on the rocker l6 co-acts with a *atchet 50 keyedto the shaft of the roller 4 to drive the belt 1, and a chain 51 betweenthe sprockets and .53 (respectively fixed on the shafts of rollers 5 and6) drives the upper: belt 2 from the lower belt 1 at the saniespeed..l'ts a result of this mechanism eachturnof the ack shaft l3 causes thein take belts to'move forward one step; the length of the step (that is,the distance: the leaf masses are fed forward by each turn of the jackshaft as before explained), is of course determined by thelength of thevariens crank and lever arms and the angle spanned by each toothof theratchet 50. For the purpose of ad usting this feed the crank ll maycomprise a plate having an stationary by the intake belts.

of the mechanism.

' as shown.

be driven thereby.

the opposite arm of this lever carries the pawl 58 co-acting with theratchet 59 keyed to the roller shaft so that this roller is alsoadvanced a step with each turn of the ack shaft. The connecting rod isconnected to therocker 46 at the oppositeside of the roller shaft e'lfrointhe pawl however, and thereby the-separator mechanism is made toadvance, grasp and pull on the leaf as before described, while the leafmass is held within which the end of the connecting rod- 55 isadjustable provides for theseparate adjustment of the advance or lengthof stepthe separator rollers. The lower separator roller Lil: is gearedto the corrugated roller as shown particularly in Figure 3, so as-toturn with and at the same rate of speed as the corrugated roller. Thetransfer belts and 23 are driven directly and continuously from thepower shaft l0; a second sprocket 6 1 on this shaft is connected by-achain The slot '60 with a sprocket. 66 keyed to the shaftof the C13nsfer belt roller 27 and the opposite roller 2:"; of the same belt isgeared to the roller 24 immediately above it to drive the upper transferbelt at the same speed thatthelower transfer belt is driven. I preferthe positive type of drive, such as secured'by sprockets and chains,gears and pawls and ratchets, especially for the intermittently operatedparts for thereby accurate timing The cross belt 33 is driv en by meansof the light belt 69 connecting the pulley 68 on the shaft of the roller2i;

to a pulley 70 built on t le lower end of oneof the supporting rollers35 of thecross-belt The feed belt 32 may be of the usual feed belt ofthe stemming machine and The journal boxes 71 of the upper rollers 3, 5,24 an l 26 of the intake and transfer belts may be mounted to slide invertical guides and may be spring-pressed downwardly as shown. Althoughnot neces sary, this is a preferable arrangement, es peciallyfor therollers 3 and '26 at. the two sides of the separator mechanism in orderthat, without crushing the leaves, the leaves may be grasped firmly atthesepoints as aforesaid. The whole arrangement may be mounted in anysuitable training or foundation It will be understood that theinventionis not limited to the specific embodiment above described butmay be embodieddn divers forms as appears from the foregoing.

leaf, and mechanism for presenting aleafbunch to said separatormechanism, said two mechanisms being differently timed so that a leafgrasped by the separator mechanism is separated from the remainingleaves of the bunch and the continued operation of said mechanismsbreaks up the bunch.

2. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of mechanism for grasping leaves, and mechanism forpresenting a leaf-bunch to the first mentioned mechanism so that thelatter grasps the leaves successively, said mechanisms withdrawing theremainder of the leaf-bunch relative to the part of the bunch grasped bythe iirst mentioned mechanism so that the grasped part is removed fromthe bunch, the continued actions of said mechanisms separating the bunchinto parts.

3. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of mechanism through which a bunch of leaves is advanced andwhich intermittently hold the bunch at rest, and intern'iittentlyoperating mechanism for grasping a part of the bunch and advancing saidpart, the second mentioned mechanism acting while the first mentionedmechanism holds the leaf-bunch at rest so that repeated operations ofsaid mechanisms se 'iaral'es the bunch into parts.

i. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of mechanism for grasping leaves, mechanism for presenting aleaf-bunch to the first mentioned mechanism so that the latter graspsthe leaves successively, said mechanisms withdrawing the remainder ofthe leaf-bunch relative to the part of the bunch grasped by the firstmentioned mechanism to remove the grasped part from the bunch, so thatthe continued actions of said mechanisms separates the bunch into parts,and a. transfer conveying the separate parts away at a greater rate ofspeed.

In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of a pair of coacting intake belts to advance the leafmasses successively, a, separator roller at the delivery end of theintake belts, and a support cooperating with the separator roller, saidseparator roller and support cooperating to grasp projecting bits of theleaf iii-asses and carry the leaves away faster than the belts advancethe masses to the grasp of the separator.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which, further, the separator roller iscorrugated longitudinally, the edge of the corrugations coacting withthe said support to carry away the leaves.

7. The combination of claim 5 in which, further, the separator roll iscorrugated longitudinally and the edges of the corrugations are flexibleand engage with the support.

8. The combination of claim 5 in which, further, the said supportincludes a roller turning synchronously with the said separator roller.

9. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of a pair of co-acting belts to advance the leaf massessuccessively, a separator roller at the delivery end of the intakebelts, a roller support turning synchronously with the separator roller,said roller support comprising alternately large and small sections, anda table reaching from the intake belts to the crevice between the saidrollers, the table being provided with apertures through which the saidlarge sections of the roller support projectinto cooperation with theseparator roll.

10. The subject of claim 5 in which the separator roll is corrugatedlongitudinally and the edges of the corrugations are flexible andengaged with the support, in combination with a transfer to take theleaves away from the separator roller, said transfer removing the leavesat a higher rate of speed than the separator roller removes them fromthe intake belts.

11. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of a pair-of intermittently operating co-aeting intake beltsto advance the leaf masses successively, an intermittently operatingseparator roller at the delivery end of the intake belt and acooperating supporting means, said belts and roller advancingsubstantially alternately so that the roller grasps a portion of a leafprojecting from a mass held by the intake belts and pulls that leaf awayfrom the mass while the mass is held stationary by the belt andcontinued intermittent operations of the belts and roller separates therespective leaf masses into parts.

12. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of mechanisms to separate the respective bunches into parts,a cross belt against which the separated parts are thrown, and anabutment against which the cross belt thrusts the parts successively,thereby aligning the leaves.

18. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of a pair of flexible co-acting intake belts, a corrugatedseparator roller at the delivery end of the intake belts, a rollersupport c0- operating with the corrugated roller and turningsynchronously therewith, said belts and the rollers advancing the leavesintermittently and substantially alternately so that a leaf projectingfrom a mass held by the belts and within the grasp of the rollers ispulled away from the leaf-mass, and a pair of co-acting belts taking theleaves from said rollers.

14. The method of breaking up bundles of dry tobacco leaves of the kinddescribed,'

which consists of crudely tearing the bundles apart so that theresulting masses consist of loosely attached leaves and from whichmasses leaves project irregularly, standing out in part separated fromother leaves, holding the masses successively While successivelypresenting the projecting leaves of ach mass in a position to begrasped, grasping the projecting leaves successively, and causing themass and the thing grasping the projecting leaves to be Withdrawnrelatively with each other to pull each grasped part from the remainderof the mass before another projecting part of the mass is grasped. I

15. In a machine for separating bunched tobacco leaves and the like, thecombination of mechanism for holding a mass of loosely attached leavesfrom Which parts pro'ject irregularly and in part stand separated fromother parts of the mass, said mechanism being adapted to hold and retainthe remain ing main portion of the mass as each projecting part ispulled away therefrom and to present successivel the projecting parts ofthe mass to the mechanism hereinafter mentioned, and a mechanism tograsp each projecting part of the mass and completely separate the saidgrasped part of the mass from the remainder thereof. said mechanismoperating successively on different portions oi the mass and therebybreaking up the mass into its component parts.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification,

JOSEPH GOUGH.

